Life Isn't Like The Movies
by William Cain
Summary: Mulder and Scully are in High School and try to come to terms with the unknown, classes and their feeling for each other.
1. Asylum

**A/N: Come on. High School Scully and Mulder are so much more fun to read about! This is going to be a long multi-chapter one, obviously I'd like to know what you guys think about it each step. I think this one is special because most of the fics here seem to be written by girls, so this one is obviously written from the guys perspective. Don't worry though, guys can be fluffy too!**

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SEPTEMBER 18, 2009

"Look at her, she even cut her hair for it."

Fox Mulder was sitting in the school's courtyard with his friend Colt and watched as Scully stood across the yard talking to a guy. Her usual long hair was cut shorter to shoulder length, no doubt for her date with him.

"She could do so much better than him." Mulder said, spitting out the Skoal juice in front of him. Colt packed another lip.

"Like you?" He asked, teasing.

"NO! She's like my little sister." Mulder retorted.

Ryan Harris was not a good looking guy. He was slightly overweight, wore these horribly round glasses and his voice had a nasally texture to it. Yet, even with all these shortcomings, he asked Dana out yesterday and she said yes. Now they were talking and laughing with each other across the yard.

"God, that laugh… I want to bash my head into the wall whenever I hear him laugh," Colt said. "Did you tell her that this was a bad idea?"

"I tried, but she was completely swept off her feet. More like shocked that someone asked her out. I told her he was no where near her level, but apparently, he made a small robot that rolled up to her while she was at her locker and asked her out."

"That's really creepy," Colt laughed. "So you two got into a fight?'

"Yeah, she called me shallow and inconsiderate." Mulder said, keeping his eyes on Ryan. He had his hand on her arm and said something that made her laugh.

"Well, this is what happens when you live your life behind a book. You end up with guys like him." Colt said, spitting out his dip.

********

Third period English class was the one class that Mulder and Scully had together. Unfortunately, Ryan Harris was also in it. Mulder walked into the classroom to see Scully and Ryan sitting next to each other in the front row. He kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with her, but she was too enthralled by him talking about Star Trek to notice. At least, Mulder assumed it was Star Trek. What else do kids like that talk about? Colt was his saving grace though, and was already seated at his usual desk in the middle of the room. Mulder walked over and took a seat next to him.

"There they go, at it again." Mulder scoffed.

Colt rolled his eyes and fished something out of his black Nike string bag. "Here, shut up and read this. It'll take your mind of things for a while."

He handed Mulder a newspaper clipping. Fox read it and his eyes went wide. "No, this can't be true…"

"I mean, I'm going to do a little background research and check the police scanner, but as of right now I'd say I'm 96% sure something crazy is happening." Colt said with a smile.

Fox scanned the article. It was about a baby who went missing from her crib the next town over. Anyone else seeing the article would just see it as a tragedy, but Mulder had seen three other articles like this one in the past month.

"When do we check it out?" he asked, sliding the article into a special black folder he had.

"When I do more research about," Colt said. "I mean, a bunch of sixteen year olds can't really do much, but I have a plan." Colt always had a plan. The plan usually involved them creating a "case file" and following the event until it ended, at which point they would begin to string together crazy conspiracy theories.

Ms. Evington strode into class and waited for the class to settle down to begin the lesson. Mulder had his notebook out, but couldn't focus. Scully and Ryan were busy passing notes to each other and from his vantage point he could see Dana smiling. _No, I'm not jealous. I just think that he's not good enough for her. She's settling. It's unreasonable._ He heard the class laugh.

"Mr. Mulder?"

Fox looked up. "Uh, yes?"

"I asked you to give an example of love in Jane Austen's novel, "Pride and Prejudice"."

The entire class was silent and the only sound that Mulder could hear was his own heart ripping through his chest. He shot a quick glance at Scully and Ryan.

"There is none." He finally said.

"Excuse me Mr. Mulder?" Ms. Evington asked.

"There is none. In the end, the whole book is arbitrary. Their sense of what love is, is inherently flawed. They don't see nor do they experience love. No, sorry, they do. Their love of status. At the end of the day, it could be said that this book is a commentary on modern society's obsession with power and actually has more in common with "American Psycho" than it does with "Romeo and Juliet" The fact that this book is so popular with girls is not surprising given the latest trends of how slutty girls end up-"

"That's enough Mr. Mulder." Ms. Evington cut him off. "Miss Scully, could you explain to the class an example of love?"

Dana gave a cookie cutter stereotypical answer, the whole while stealing looks at Ryan who sat there blushing. Colt passed Fox a note with only the word "LOSER" printed on it. Mulder put his head down, hoping the bell would ring as soon as humanly possible.

*******

At Richard Clayton High School, there was a hierarchy of cliques. First you had the jocks and the cheerleader. They were the coolest and everybody wanted to either be them (openly or secretly) or hang out with them. Then there were the rich kids who nobody liked because they were so conceited and shallow. After that, you had your myriad of social stereotypes who were pretty much on the same level with each other. After them, you had the loners, who didn't really associate with one group or another and then you had the losers on the lowest rung of the totem pole. Only one group could be said transcended the normal spectrum, the Cowboys.

The town of Chambers, Wyoming still made most of its money from cattle ranching and farms dotted the landscape. The group of ranch hands at the high school were all descended from generations of cattle farmers and since they were over 13, worked the ranches during their free time. Nobody messed with them because they were so integral to the towns well being and everyone had a least a drop of respect for them. Colt was one of the more popular cowboys at the high school and as such, was able to associate himself with different people of different cliques. So when Colt brought Mulder, a loner, to the schools weight room to work off some frustration, none of the jocks even batted an eye.

"How are you feeling?" Colt asked, switching places with Mulder on the bench. Mulder walked around it and spotted as Colt worked his reps in.

"A little better," He replied. "I'm just worried about her."

"You like her don't you." Colt said, cleanly clearing the bar.

"No, it's not that," Mulder said quickly. ""I just don't know much about this kid. I mean, Scully has been my best friend since we were four and as a friend, I don't want to see her heart broken."

Colt finished up. "What makes you think Ryan is going to break her heart?"

Mulder walked over to the bench and took his position while Colt got ready to spot. "Don't be naïve. The kid is one of the biggest losers in the school. He's probably just itching to cop a feel tonight."

Mulder grabbed the bar and started benching it.

"Hey Big Lou! What's that saying you have about the Robotics kids?" Colt called out.

Big Lou was a monster of a senior, the star defensive tackle for the football team. He was doing bicep curls in the corner of the weight room. "If the kids a loser, he don't get to choose her." He said with a smile. Clot laughed.

"See Mulder. The kids probably so ecstatic that he has a date that he's probably too scared to even do anything."

Mulder finished his rep and Colt helped him replace the bar. "I don't know. It still doesn't put my mind at ease."

Colt took a small sip from his water bottle. So, what do you want to do? Tail them?" He said with a laugh. He stopped suddenly when Mulder looked serious. "Oh no… you're not really thinking…"

"Yes… yes I am." Mulder said. He had never been more serious in his life.

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**A/N: And that's the first chapter. Obviously, hilarity ensues. What will happen on the date? Will Mulder intervene? Will Scully have her first kiss? Why is Colt here?**

**Oh, and what's going on with the missing babies? Wait… that's the long running storyline… whoops! Or is it? Dum Dum DUUUUUM!!!!**

**Be sure to drop me a line and I hoped you enjoy and will continue reading the High School (mis)adventures of Scully and Mulder.**


	2. Stalking

**A/N: You know you're an X-Files fan when… you tape an "X" to your window out of boredom.**

**On with the story! But yeah, I formally had a formatting error, which made the first chapter run together and might've made it confusing. I greatly apologize and the problem has in fact been fixed.**

**Disclaimer: Do we still need these? I don't own X-Files or associated characters.**

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_Mulder lay across her bed, thumbing through a history textbook, pretending he was studying. Scully always saw through it though and threw a balled up piece of paper at him, hitting Fox square in the face. She giggled, and got up from the floor where she was sitting and jumped on the bed with him._

"_Did you hear?" She asked excitedly._

"_Yeah." He mumbled._

"_What?"_

"_Yes. I heard." He said, not taking his eyes off the textbook._

"_Oh my God, can you believe it?" It was more of a statement than a question. Mulder shrugged his shoulders._

"_I'm probably as shocked as he was that you said yes."_

_The room went quiet. Cold and quiet. Not a good combination. Mulder looked up and saw a confused yet strangely angry look on Scully's face. Mulder contemplated how his best friend could all of a sudden hate him in a span of about 30 seconds. He mused on this for a while before he realized that Scully looked like she was getting more and more upset._

"_Scully…"_

"_Get out, Mulder." She said, her face flushed. She turned her back and sat down at her desk. Fox sighed._

"_Scully, I didn't-"_

"_GET OUT!"_

_Fox quickly gathered his things and left the room, swearing that he could hear a faint whimpering._

_******  
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2009

Colt had decided to not come and instead worked on the ranch. Just as well, Mulder felt that it would be better if he went it alone. He pulled his black Honda off the highway and into the downtown district and parked it in front of the only diner in town. He knew this was Scully's favorite place to eat in the whole town and if she had a date, she'd bring him here. He shut off the engine and waited, considering whether or not to get out of the car or drive away.

The door opened and Mulder stepped outside. It was a nice, brisk day, the fresh smell of autumn filling the air. He nonchalantly walked over to the door of the diner and peered in, hoping to catch a glimpse of Scully. His eye detected a flash of red and he shifted his gaze. There in the third booth on the left, Scully sat with Ryan. They were talking and laughing as they ate fries.

Mulder felt deflated. He wanted to burst through the door and take her away from Ryan's grubby little fingers. But it would be completely unreasonable. So then, why was he still itching to do it?

Mulder walked back to his car and got in, turning the radio on and settling on a talk radio station. He waited there for a long time and saw Ryan and Dana walk out of the diner. They weren't hand in hand, but they were both smiling these wide grins. They got into Ryan's car, a beat up Mercury coup, and drove away. Mulder turned his car on and tailed them, taking care to avoid being noticed.

A few minutes into it, he got a phone call. He quickly connected his headset and answered it. "Mulder."

"Mulder, what the hell are you doing?"

Mulder froze. "Who is this?"

"Dude, its Colt. Are you following Scully?"

"No. Of course not."

A horn honked that made Mulder jump in his seat. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Colt's red pickup truck driving right behind him.

"Pull over man." Colt said. Mulder obliged and Colt pulled up right next to him. The back of the truck was filled with plywood. Colt jumped out and flicked his cigarette away. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Mulder rubbed his face. "I don't know."

"You need to relax. This isn't healthy. I didn't really think you were actually going to stalk them."

"I'm not stalking them."

"Mulder, you're in your car on a Friday night, chasing down your best friend because she's out on a date. That's pretty much the definition of stalking."

Mulder was quiet. "You got another one of those?" He said pointing at the new cigarette hanging out of Colt's mouth.

"Go home Mulder." Colt said walking away. "And pray that Scully didn't see you obviously tailing her." He yelled out before jumping in his pickup. Colt peeled out and sped away down the highway, leaving Mulder alone on the side of the road with his thoughts.

"Yeah," he finally said, speaking to no one in particular. "This was a stupid idea."

*****

Mulder lay in his bed that night, tossing and turning restlessly. He kept looking over at a small-framed picture by his desk. It was of him and Scully, taken when they were ten in her backyard, pointing at the sky. He turned his lamp on and walked over to his desk where his cell phone was. He contemplated calling Scully but decided against it. He tossed the phone back on his desk and sat on the edge of his bed, trying to figure out why in the world this was bothering him so much.

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**A/N: Thanks for everybody who read and especially those that review, they are always appreciated.**

**Anyway, what happened on Scully and Ryan's date? Will Scully and Mulder ever reconcile? Why does Mulder have a bad feeling? Why was Colt hauling plywood on a Friday night? All this and more, next time! **


	3. Rumors

**A/N: You know you're an X-Files fan when… you can't look at a pack of cigarettes without thinking about the Smoking Man.**

**Hmmm… another day, another chapter. Once again, thanks a bunch to everyone who has been reading and especially those who have been reviewing. **

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2009

The morning sun poked through the blinds, awakening Mulder with her warm touch. He scanned his room for a moment, allowing his eyes to fully open and checked the clock. It was only ten-thirty, which meant he still had time for a shower before he had to meet with Colt for lunch.

After showering and shaving, Mulder threw on some clothes and bolted for the door, hopping in his car and driving down the highway into town. The café Colt liked was right outside of town. The only reason he liked it was because it was only a ten minute ride from the farm and the owner of it let him tie up his horse outside. Mulder pulled into the parking lot and saw three horses tied in the front. He walked in the café and quickly found Colt at a table with two other guys.

Fox recognized both of them. Tommy, the oldest one was a senior, kind of an all American with the smile to match. Gareth was the other one, most known for having a huge scar on his face from when a horse kicked him when he was five. Both worked on Colt's father's farm. Mulder sat down with them.

"Finally, I was wonderin' when you'd show. You know Tommy and Gareth right?"

Mulder nodded. A waitress came over and Mulder got a cup of coffee and a muffin.

"Fox, you gotta hear this, Tommy, tell him what you just told me." Colt said, motioning to Tommy.

"Oh yeah, Ok, I'm in the bathroom-"

"The OTHER thing Tom."

Tommy thought for a second as he buttered his toast. "OH! That thing. Yeah, so I'm at Jed's General store, 'cause it's the only place that has good feed for the animals cheap. So I walk in there this morning and JJ comes up to me." JJ was Jed Jr. and was a sophomore at their High School.

"So JJ comes up and asks me if I had heard anything strange last night. I hadn't so I told him no," Tommy leaned into the table. "JJ tells me that last night at around eleven, Ryan Harris and the AV geeks he hangs out with were milling outside the comic book store, y'know the one at the strip mall."

"Wait, what was JJ doing at the comic book store?" Mulder asked.

"The CVS is right next to it and he had just bought a pack of cigarettes and was smoking one. Anyway, so he's standing there, trying not to be recognized, and he hears Ryan bragging to them about how he boned the hell out of Scully."

Mulder choked on his coffee, spitting some up. He grabbed a napkin and started wiping up. "He what?"

"Yeah, and if you check his facebook, it says 'Ryan Harris had a VERY VERY good night.' The two verys are in all caps." Tommy took a bite out of his toast.

Mulder's mind was racing. He couldn't think straight. It didn't sound like Scully. She was always so… well, innocent. But then again, she had never had a real date before. Mulder was filled with a mix of confusion and rage, but the two seemed to cancel each other out, so he just sat there in an almost cationic state.

"That can't be true." Mulder finally said. There was silence around the table.

"Whether it's true or not isn't the point. The fact of the matter is, he's going around, saying it's true." Colt said.

"What does Scully's facebook say?" Mulder asked.

"It's an old status from like, three days ago." Tommy said. Mulder nodded.

"I need to talk to JJ."

****

"_Where's Colt?" She asked, holding on to his arm._

"_He said he was busy. He's been acting really strange lately, saying he's building something. All I know is, nobody should need the amount of plywood he's been gathering." He said laughing._

_She giggled and rested her head on his arm as they walked together into the dark field. "I thought he was your best friend." She said._

"_You know the truth is that you are."_

"_Ah yes, but you can't let the guys know, right?"_

"_They wouldn't understand."_

_They came to a spot and he unfolded a blanket from his backpack. Together they lie on it and stare up into the summer night sky. Their eyes scan the heavens, searching for anything that might look like it doesn't belong._

"_Do you think you'll ever actually see anything again?" She asks nestling closer to him. He could feel her bare arm next to him, her smooth skin rubbing against his._

"_I hope so. I want to believe it's out there, somewhere. Waiting for someone to notice it."_

"_You need to believe something is out there."_

"_Maybe…"_

_He lets the thought linger in his mind. In the sky above, a star shoots across._

"_It's so beautiful." She says, taking a deep breath._

_Mulder wanted to say something, but decided not to. He didn't want to ruin the moment._

_****_

JJ was a small, ugly looking kid, but he had a heart of gold and always offered to help anyone in need. So when Mulder and Colt showed up at the General Store later that evening he was eager to help in any way he could. They sat in the front of the store in chairs. JJ offered them both cigarettes and each took one and lit it.

"So, what do you need to know?" He asked when they had settled.

"What exactly did you hear Ryan say last night?" Mulder put an emphasis on the word "exactly".

JJ took a deep lungful of air. "I was standing outside smoking and I heard Ryan talking about how he had a date with Scully and had gotten lucky. It wasn't really my place to eavesdrop but as I was leaving I heard him say the word 'panties' about two or three times."

"Panties?" Mulder asked.

"Yes, panties."

There was a silence.

"You know, I always thought the word panties sounded funny." Colt said, obviously trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work. Mulder sighed and thanked JJ.

"It's a small town. Word gets around quick." Colt observed.

"I don't know. I refuse to believe it. I mean, she's Catholic."

"C'mon Fox. You know that doesn't mean shit any more." Colt said, climbing into his truck. Mulder opened the door to his Honda.

"The truth is out there Colt." He said.

"You're so cheesy. Seriously, don't do anything stupid. I'm going to see her at church tomorrow. I'll call you."

****

For the second night in a row, Mulder couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he just saw Ryan on top of Scully and he could hear her moaning. The thought turned his stomach upside down. He opened his window and straddled the sill, hoping that a cigarette would calm his nerves. The first didn't, so he lit another one. After two pulls he threw it away. He realized then that he hadn't spoken to Dana in two days and couldn't remember a time since they met when that happened.

****

SEPTEMBER 21, 2009

Nothing had happened on Sunday. Colt had slept in "by accident" and didn't make it to church for the twelfth week in a row and advised Mulder to catch up on homework, which he did. When Monday rolled around, Mulder drove to school and met up with Colt and Tommy in the courtyard.

"What's going on guys?"

"We're playing a game," Colt said. "It's called 'Guess who everyone is talking about in the school yet, doesn't know she been talked about.' I'll give you a hint. The answer is Dana Scully."

"What?"

The two boys nodded. "Look, see. There she is talking to Ryan. Now watch. Whenever she looks away, Ryan flashes a doofy thumbs up to his cronies standing over there. LOOK! See, he just did it."

"That's it," Mulder said in a fit of rage. "I'm kicking his ass."

"That's such a lie," Colt replied, laughing. "Anyway, she has no idea everyone is talking about her and even if you did kick his ass, what would that do? It'd just make things between you two that much worse."

"Wait, Mulder, do you like Scully?" Tommy asked.

"No!"

His voice cracked.

"Uh huh, well, we need undeniable proof. Something rock solid that would prove what really happened on Friday night," Colt said thinking. "I have an idea."

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**A/N: What happened Friday night? Is Scully really no longer a virgin? Why didn't Mulder just kick his ass right then and there? (Well, that was kinda answered already…) What's Colt's plan? And what's he doing with so much plywood? All this and more, next time!**

**Oh, and also, I'm thinking about doing a few scenes from Scully's POV. What do you guys and girls think?**


	4. Answers

**A/N: You know you're an X-Files fan when… you buy the seasons rather than download them and pray that Chris Carter uses the money to bring the show back.**

**Hey, I can dream can't I? Anyway, I'm really ecstatic to hear that you guys like it, because I'm having a great time writing it! Special thanks to all who reviewed! Also, I have the next 3 big story arcs planned so settle in, it's going to hopefully be a great ride!**

**Enough of me now, ON WITH THE STORY!**

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"And you're sure this isn't illegal?"

"Oh no, this is highly illegal."

Mulder gulped. His heart started to race. "What kind of trouble could we get in?"

"3 to 5."

"Years?"

"No, muffins. Of course years."

Mulder began pacing back and forth. After a few pauses, Colt and Tommy started to laugh. "Relax," Colt said. "Breaking into a locker isn't a big deal. Especially since we're not going to steal anything."

Mulder nodded shakily and ran his fingers through his hair. Tommy jimmied the lock some more and it opened with a loud clank. Tommy turned to both of them and smiled. "We're in."

He opened the locker door. Against the side of it were a myriad of pictures. All of them were of Dana Scully. The pictures were innocent enough, just pictures of her in a park, sitting on the grass, smiling… staring into the camera…

Mulder shook his head clear and watched as Tommy rifled through the contents of the locker while Colt stood guard. Mulder leaned against the wall and thought about his next course of action. There really wasn't much he could do. At this point, he didn't even know if Scully and he could mend their relationship. Especially if she saw him following them on Friday.

"I found something." Mulder's train of thought was cut short by Tommy. His hand was still in the locker and he looked like he was struggling to pull something out. After a few seconds, Tommy's hand slid out.

All three of them stood there dumbfounded. Well, Mulder did, Tommy just looked confused and Colt was trying to scratch an itch on his back. In Tommy's hand was a pair of white panties. Mulder found it hard to breathe and felt his hands ball up into fists.

Colt eyeballed the panties and then Mulder. "Is it weird that I'm hoping that Ryan likes to dress up in women's underwear?" He asked.

"Are you enjoying envisioning it?" Tommy asked.

"Not particularly."

"Then you're OK."

The exchange did nothing to calm Mulder down, who at this point was so enraged and confused, he didn't know how he should react. One side of him was telling him to find Ryan in class and beat him to a pulp with his own desk. The other side was telling him to give up, that all was lost. Unfortunately, that was the side that was winning the argument.

"You got two minutes before the bell rings Tom." Colt informed him. Tommy nodded and shoved the panties back in the locker.

****

At lunch, Colt was with the other Cowboys discussing weather trends or something, so Mulder ditched it and sat by himself in the library so he could be alone with his thoughts. Too many thoughts for him to handle and at a certain point he snuck away into the boys bathroom to have a smoke. He was in the stall when he heard the door open and two boys talking.

"So? C'mon tell me!" Fox didn't recognize this voice, but the next one made him cringe.

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell."

It was Ryan.

"Please, c'mon, you can tell me."

"All I'll say is that we have a study date tonight, and I'm predicting that there wont be too much studying being done." Ryan said with a laugh.

_Wow, way to be subtle_, Mulder thought. He flushed the cigarette down the toilet and waited until he heard the two boys leave.

****

"So, where do we go from here?" Mulder asked. Colt and he were seated at a table at the local diner, going over the betting odds for that night's games.

"You haven't spoken to her since your argument?"

Mulder nodded.

"Call her." He said, turning the page in the newspaper while taking a sip of coffee. Mulder leaned back in his chair.

"I really should."

Colt closed the newspaper he was looking at as forceful as he could, which wasn't much because it was a newspaper, but Mulder understood the dramatic ambiance he was trying to make.

"Answer me honestly Fox," he said. "Do you like her?"

"No." Mulder said, shaking his head quickly.

"Don't lie to me Fox," Colt was staring a hole through him. Fox shifted in his seat. "If you like her, you should seriously just tell her how you feel. What's she going to do? Laugh at you? I guarantee she wont."

"It could ruin our friendship." Mulder said.

"AHA!" Colt exclaimed. "You DO like her!"

"Shit…" Fox covered his face and rubbed his eyes. "So I should call her?"

"Sure." Colt said taking a sip.

Mulder thought about it for the rest of their time at the diner, completely eschewing Colt's comments about good picks and pitcher's ERAs. By the time they split to go their separate ways, Mulder had made up his mind.

He wouldn't say anything.

****

Once again, Mulder lay in his bed. In his mind, he was wondering if this was how emo kids felt all the time, but disregarded it quickly. He looked at the clock and saw that it was only 9:30 and he knew that Ryan was probably over at Scully's house doing God knows what. He got off his bed and walked outside, getting in his car and started to drive. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, but soon into it he recognized a few of the local landmarks and knew that he was driving to Scully's place. He pulled up to her house, walked up to the door and rang the bell.

There was no answer.

Mulder rang again. Still no answer. The lights were on in the house, even though the family car was gone. When the Scullys left for vacation every year, they always left the kitchen light on to ward on intruders, but Mulder could count about four lights on in the house. Dana was home, he was sure of it. Ryan probably too. Fox was about to ring the bell one more time when he heard what sounded like whispering.

He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly sent Scully a text saying only the words "come outside". He backed away from the door and waited, a few minutes later the door opened and a very pissed off Dana Scully stood in the doorway.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She was wearing the same clothes she wore to school yet they were still unwrinkled, and her hair was just as neatly done as it was earlier in the day. Good signs. Mulder let out a sigh of preemptive relief.

"I need to talk to you." He said.

"Well I have nothing left to say." She retorted.

_Now or never_, Fox thought. "Dana, there's no easy way to say this, but I-"

"What was that?!" Her head snapped quickly, cutting Mulder off. Fox heard some rustling, but chalked it up to wind or squirrels. When he looked back up at her, there was a second figure in the doorway. Ryan put his arm around Dana's waist.

"Oh Dana, you didn't tell me Fox was coming." He said. There was a smugness in his voice that made Mulder want to pick up a branch and shove it down his throat.

"He was just leaving." She said. "Right?"

_Don't be a bitch, don't be a bitch_, Mulder thought. He took a deep breath.

"IS THAT COLT!?" Dana exclaimed, looking over Fox's shoulder. "YOU BROUGHT COLT WITH YOU!? Mulder, what the hell is going on?"

Fox turned, desperately hoping not to see Colt standing behind him. He got his wish. Colt wasn't standing behind him. He was sitting in his red pickup truck parked right outside the house.

"Hmmm… that thing's quieter than I thought." Mulder said under his breath. Dana looked angrier than he ever saw her before, but he couldn't help thinking about how cute she looked. He heard the pickup's door open and then close. Colt nonchalantly walked up to Mulder.

"I thought I'd find you here. You have to see this." He said.

Mulder wanted to take that time to yell at him for possibly ruining everything, but he refrained.

"Colt," He said, trying to remain calm. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh yeah, pretend like you didn't know he was there." Dana said shaking her head. "C'mon Ryan, let's go."

"HEARKEN!" Colt yelled raising his arms in the air and causing everybody to raise their eyebrows and stare at him. "Something weird is going on here. Dana, which room were you and Ryan in?"

"The living room. Can you leave now?"

"Not until I show you something." With that, he erupted into a full sprint to the side of the house. There was yelling. Mulder looked up at Ryan who seemed to be nervously fidgeting his fingers on Dana's side. She still looked pissed… until Colt came back from the side of the house with a kid in a side headlock. A boy… who had a camera around his neck.

"What…" Dana looked over at Fox. "OK, everyone leaves right now. Except you Ryan. Now I REALLY need to talk to you." They headed indoors, slamming the door. Mulder looked over at Colt.

"Thanks a lot. Now she thinks I'm a freak."

"No she doesn't." Colt said with a smile.

****

Mulder had gone home right after the fiasco at Scully's house. Colt called him near midnight explaining what had happened. The kid with the camera was one of three of Ryan's friends who were camped out at the living room window. When asked how he knew they'd be there, Colt gave a very longwinded explanation, which basically amounted to one of the boy's fathers telling him he had gone to Scully's house while he was delivering paychecks. Intrigued, and not wanting to do history homework, he decided to check it out.

This didn't put Mulder's mind at ease and he was dreading seeing Scully at school, but of course, the laws of physics were at work that day and she found him two minutes after he arrived in the courtyard. She walked up to him and they stood in silence staring at each other, Fox bracing himself for the scolding he was about to receive.

"I know you were just looking out for me." She finally said. Fox lowered his guard.

"What?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"Do you think I'm deaf? I heard everything that was being said about me yesterday. Which is why I invited him over to talk about it. Do you know he actually stole a pair of my panties?" She said holding up a paper bag.

"No." Fox quickly said, trying not to stare at the bag.

She sighed. "You know you insinuated some really hurtful things last week…"

Fox looked for the right answer. "I didn't mean it like that, but I'm sorry." He waited to see how she would react.

"I know, and I'm sorry I blew up like that. But you have to understand…" She droned on and on and Fox phased it out. Not on purpose of course, he was just plain captivated by her. When she finally stopped talking she cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"I'm sorry that I let something stupid get in the way of us," She continued. "I knew Ryan was the way he is. But, I don't know, it's just nice to feel attractive and to have somebody who wants you, you know? He just wasn't the right fit. Anyway, I wouldn't even let me touch him. I actually invited him over to break it off with him. I just didn't realize he was THAT creepy."

_Now or never… _

"Dana," Fox said. "I really care about you-"

"I know," She quickly interjected. "And I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have a friend that cares about me as much as you do." With that she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Mulder returned the hug and smiled. Then his eyes went wide when he processed what she had just said.  
_  
Wait… FRIEND?!_

* * *

**A/N: So Ryan was exposed as the perv he really is and Colt's over analyzing of things was good. But wait... Friend? Are Fox and Dana doomed to remain friends for eternity? Will Ryan want payback for Fox and his gang essentially ratting him out? What about the missing babies? Will Fox ever quit smoking? Will he ever tell Dana how he really feels? So many questions, but hopefully a few of the will be answered next time!**


	5. Confusion

**A/N: You know you're an X-Files fan when… even a year later, you feel the need to come back and continue your story!**

**If you want to now the reason for my long hiatus, check my profile, but it's about time I became more involved here, doing what I love. Also, I'm now a betareader, so if you need someone to look over your story, feel free to pm me.**

**On with chapter 5!**

* * *

**September 28, 2009**

"What is this place?"

It was Monday night, a week after the Ryan fiasco ended and Fox was standing in a field with Colt, staring at what looked to be a crudely constructed shack.

"It's our field office!" Colt said with a smile. Fox looked more perplexed than excited.

"It looks like it's going to fall over"

"That's nonsense, my Dad helped me build it. The foundation is sturdy and we have desks and lights and all the amenities we need inside!"

"How long have you been working on this?"

"Since last year. Consider it an early graduation gift to us Fox."

The inside looked much better than the outside, which Colt explained he did on purpose to "disguise" it. There were lights, hardwood floors, two desks, a projector, even a working bathroom. Fox was thoroughly impressed, especially when he saw a tackboard on the wall with newspaper clippings about the recent rash of missing babies in the area.

"Our first case?" Fox asked, looking over the board.

"You know it!"

**September 29, 2009**

Fox was excited. After school, he was going to bring his laptop and posters over to the new field office (which he and Colt had dubbed "The Shack") and start decorating the interior. He couldn't believe the effort Colt put into it, and although he knew it was probably Colt's father and the rest of the adult laborers who did most of the work, he felt touched that his friend actually took his dream seriously. At lunch, he looked around for Colt, but instead was waved over to an empty table by Dana.

"Hey Dana, what's going on?"

"Trying to brainstorm an idea for this English assignment… do you want to come over tonight and work on it together?"

Fox had forgotten all about it. They had to write a four-page story using the same writing style of "Pride and Prejudice". It wasn't due until Friday, but of course Dana was hard at work on it now.

"I'm actually meeting with Colt after school." He said.

"That's OK. How about later tonight?"

"I'm actually going to be with him probably all night."

She raised her eyebrow. "You two have been spending a lot of time together lately." Fox thought he detected a tinge of jealousy.

"Well, you know, we can meet tomorrow night. Is that OK?"

Dana smiled. "Yeah, perfect, it's a date." She gave Fox a hug and walked out of the cafeteria.

Fox picked up one of his French fries but dropped it before he was able to put it in his mouth.

"Wait… a date!"

* * *

**And there you go. Is Fox over analyzing Dana's words? Will they ever get together? Will he talk to Colt about it? If so, will Colt just make things more confusing? Oh yeah, and there's a school dance fast approaching, which is sure to make things even more bewildering.**


End file.
